Album release: Let’s Dance

David Bowie’s 15th studio album, Let’s Dance, was released on 14 April 1983. His biggest-selling album, it was co-produced by Chic’s Nile Rodgers and contained the hit singles ‘Let’s Dance’, ‘China Girl’ and ‘Modern Love’.

The ‘Let’s Dance’ single had been released on 14 March 1983, with the b-side ‘Cat People (Putting Out Fire)’. It was a worldwide smash hit, topping the charts in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the USA. It peaked at number two in Australia, France, Germany, and South Africa.

The album was released exactly one month later on vinyl and cassette.

Let’s Dance was an instant smash, becoming EMI’s fastest-selling album since the Beatles’ 1967 opus Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It reached number one in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the UK. In the US it stalled at number four on the Billboard 200.

Three other singles were released from the album. ‘China Girl’ was issued on 31 May 1983, with ‘Shake It’ on the flipside. It was followed by ‘Modern Love’, backed with a live version, in September, and ‘Without You’/’Criminal World’ in November.